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News: Newsletter 13

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November 19, 2002

In this newsletter:

  • Africa TeleHealth Group to host Second Africa TeleHealth Series at Telemedicine Trade Fair
  • Asia-Pacific Telecommunity Telemedicine Workshop
  • Register for the Telemedicine Trade Fair and submit your request for telemedicine products and services
  • Abstract submission for the Telemedicine Trade Fair's educational program nears deadline
  • Special hotel conditions available for participants of the Telemedicine Trade Fair
  • News from the Telemedicine Trade Fair's media partners
  • Newsbriefs
  • Conferences


The Africa TeleHealth Group will host the Second Africa TeleHealth Series during the Telemedicine Trade Fair in Luxembourg in April 2003. The Africa Telehealth Series was launched in collaboration with the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC). The first series based on the theme "Army Telemedicine Partnership: Reach People...Meeting Needs" was held in June 2002 in Los Angeles, California, USA. The focus was on telemedicine and teleconsultation technologies and how these may be relevant to population health and distance learning activities in Africa.
The second series is scheduled in conjunction with the Telemedicine Trade Fair (Luxembourg). The presentations will feature a review of previous telemedicine/telehealth recommendations (by International Telecommunication Union, World Health Organization, World Bank and African Development Bank) made at different conferences pertaining to Africa and will then move on - beyond the theoretical frameworks - to the practical steps to be taken with discussion of telemedicine/telehealth progress, challenges and needs in several African countries. As Dr. Oryema Johnson, Director of the Africa TeleHealth Group said: "Many recommendations and resolutions are passed at every conference, but instead of implementing previous recommendations, more conferences are held and the previous conferences with their resolutions are forgotten. Perhaps this forthcoming event in Luxembourg could come up with some ways and means of how we need to invest in conference resolutions concretely in stead of always creating new ones. We need to turn these conferences and exhibitions into fertile soil into which ideas are not only planted but sent to the field were they are needed the most."
According to Frank Lievens, International Coordinator of the Telemedicine Trade Fair, this is indeed the purpose of this event: "By bringing together decisions makers at all levels (manufacturers, national government, international organizations, healthcare service providers, healthcare institutions, insurers, etc.) from around the world, we want to create a forum and an atmosphere which will ultimately serve the healthcare needs of entire populations and which at the same time also serves the business needs of the suppliers of telemedicine equipment and services." More news and program details will be available soon. A preparatory meeting is also planned in Uganda in January 2003. For more information, contact .


The Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT) organized a workshop on "Mobile Communication Technology for Medical Care" in Jakarta (Indonesia) on October 26-28, 2002 in close cooperation with Bandung Institute of Technology and Tokai University, Japan. The workshop was attended by more than 80 participants from several countries in the region and further afield.
Professor Kiyoshi Kurokawa, Director of Tokai University Institute of Medical Sciences and Chairman of the workshop said: "There are many technologies that have demonstrated the potential to change the way of the future human life. Information and communication technology is one of them and the impact on telemedicine on health care is more far reaching than one might imagine".
Indonesia, with 5 main and 13,677 small islands stretching 5,110 km from West to East and 1,888 km from North to South, faces many problems in health care delivery. Not only are there problems due to the geography of the area, but also the shortage in expertise and resources makes it difficult to provide the necessary health care services to all citizens and in particular in remote and rural areas. Telemedicine can be a very useful tool to improve the access to health care.
The APT workshop featured a number of interesting presentations covering a wide range of telemedicine applications from robotic surgery to a new method of rescue operations at sea. This information will be online shortly and more details about the exact website where the information can be found will be provided in a following edition of this newsletter. It was clear from this workshop that telemedicine services already exist in many countries as trial or pilot projects, but that it is necessary for a global view be taken to establish a cohesive infrastructure so that everybody can start moving in the same direction.


Registration for the Telemedicine Trade Fair (April 9-11, 2003) can be done by simply filling out and returning the visitor registration form. The registration cost is only EUR 25,- for three days of exhibition, educational programs, social events and an opportunity to meet key telemedicine players from around the world and to see, evaluate and buy a wide range of telemedicine equipment, products and services. A matchmaking service is also being set up: once you have registered, you can submit your specific demands for telemedicine products and services, and through our list of exhibitors and other contacts we will bring you in touch with suppliers of such products or services. You will be able to set up pre-arranged meetings with exhibitors at the trade fair, thus increasing the effectiveness of your participation at the Telemedicine Trade Fair. So register now, and you'll receive more information about this service.


If you are considering making a presentation in the educational and information program of the Telemedicine Trade Fair, don't delay the submission of your abstract. The abstract submission deadline is December 2, 2002! Presentations focusing on practical telemedicine applications and experiences (from a technical, medical or business point of view) are welcome. Making a presentation will put you in front of an international audience of healthcare service providers, government representatives and telemedicine project coordinators, who are all looking for new or improved ways to implement telemedicine applications in their institutions or countries and will increase the profile of you and your organization. Check out www.telemedicine.lu for more information on how to submit an abstract or contact us at .


Special hotel rates have been negotiated with several hotels in Luxembourg through the Luxembourg Convention Bureau for your stay in Luxembourg during the Telemedicine Trade Fair 2003. To book a room, fill out and return the hotel reservation form, or contact the Luxembourg Convention Bureau at +352 22 75 65 (phone), +352 46 70 73 (fax), or (e-mail).


  • Inter-IT.com is the interactive community of policy makers and corporate managers for the dissemination and interchange of ideas and developments in the field of Information and Internet Technology.
  • Clinica Reports is a leading publisher of in-depth business reports for the international medical device and diagnostic industry. Covering the hottest topics such as Robotics and Computer Assisted Surgical Devices, and Medical Diagnostic Imaging, Clinica Reports provides the highest standard of focused business intelligence in the medical device and diagnostic industries offering advice and authoritative management education on the issues that affect your business. The Clinica website contains the complete range of available titles covering: diagnostic technologies, medical devices, strategic management, e-strategies and market analysis. An executive summary and full table of contents is provided for each title, together with details of forth-coming publications such as Successful Marketing Strategies for Medical Devices and Diagnostics and IT in Healthcare. Telemedicine Trade Fair delegates can take advantage of a 10% prepublication offer on these last two titles (contact: ).
  • The TIE (Telemedicine Information Exchange), provider of comprehensive telemedicine information, continuously updates the information and features on its website. Recently, the Citation Delivery Service (CDS) has become operational. The CDS feature will notify a user when a citation matching the user's search criteria is added to the TIE bibliographic database. Also in the bibliographic database, the foreign language link has been activated. Twenty-three languages are represented, including citations from German, Italian, Czechoslovakian, Swedish, Greek, Polish, Hungarian, Norwegian and Turkish authors.
    For more information about these and other Telemedicine Trade Fair media partners, check out www.telemedicine.lu.


  • The European Space Agency (ESA) is developing a new satellite system (DELTASS - Disaster Emergency Logistics Telemedicine Advanced Satellites System) to allow emergency workers in a disaster zone to get expert help treating patients when mobile and land-based communications are struck down, TIE reports --- click here for more information, or check out the ESA website.
  • In the U.S., the Pennsylvania Homecare Association (PHA) is directing a telehomecare project in a statewide effort to find out whether adding home telehealth to traditional forms of care does in fact reduce costs, TIE reports --- click here for more information.
  • Space, textile and information technologies: a unique combination of expertise for the development of a new generation of communicating bio-medical clothes, Virtual Medical Worlds Monthly reports --- click here for full article.
  • SOS International and Johns Hopkins International sign co-operative agreement for remote emergency medical services, Virtual Medical Worlds Monthly reports --- click here for full article.


    • The forthcoming telehealth 2002 conference will feature an exciting programme of speakers and subjects. The conference is taking place on Wednesday 27 November 2002 at One Great George Street in London. Under the chairmanship of renowned writer and broadcaster John Humphrys, keynote speeches from the Health Minister, Lord Hunt of King's Heath and the Chairman of the House of Commons Select Committee on Health, David Hinchliffe MP, promise to make this an unmissable event.
    telehealth 2002 includes a detailed look at the role of telecare technologies in enabling patients to live independently and safely in their own homes while being monitored remotely by their carers. Also included in the programme is the role of telemedicine in improving cancer services by bringing together specialists to share and discuss patient treatment plans; telemedicine's role in enabling paramedics to respond to emergencies more efficiently and avoid unnecessary ambulance journeys; how telemedicine and ehealth can improve emergency care and bring specialist care directly to GP surgeries and an exciting look at how the "Third Generation" of mobile phones will revolutionise the way in which individuals manage their own health and lifestyle.
    Also featured in the programme is Lt-Col David Vassallo's moving insight into the role of telemedicine in treating the victims of wars and humanitarian disasters - several of whom will be our special guests at the conference.
    A "Question Time" style debate and discussion between the audience and the panel will bring together leading healthcare commentators, including TV-agony aunt and President of The Patients' Association, Claire Rayner; General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, Dr Beverley Malone; Chief Executive of the NHS Confederation, Dr Gill Morgan and Chairman of the UK eHealth Association, Dr Ricky Richardson.
    A detailed programme of the telehealth 2002 conference can be found at www.avienda.co.uk or contact Lisa Davies on +44 29 2046 2323 or send an e-mail to .

     
     

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